Two-time Gold medal winning London Olympian Mo Farah was detained by U.S Customs agents in Portland Oregon for possible terrorist affiliation due to his Somalian heritage.

This is unfortunately not the first time Farah has run into problems with U.S Customs agents, Farah says he’s ‘routinely stopped and questioned’. Farah had the fortune of having his two gold medals in his possession to which he displayed to the agents, but to no avail as they didn’t believe him. Farah told ‘The Sun’:

I couldn’t believe it. Because of my Somali origin I get detained every time I come through US Customs….This time I even got my medals out to show who I am, but they wouldn’t have it.

Farah has lived in Great Britian since his youth, and has an English born father, but because of the country of his birth he’s still viewed as a person of suspicion to US Customs. Farah is one of the most recognizable athletes in the UK and the world, and moved to Portland Oregon last year with his family so he could train with track coach Alberto Salazar.

After being detained and questioned for a few hours Farah was eventually released. This is just another gripe in a list of run-ins the runner has had with customs. Last year when he was applying for resident visa status he was notified that he was being investigated for possible terrorist activities. Racial profiling or a necessary move to combat the war on terrorism? You be the judge.

While everyone understands the need to vigilance I understand Mo’s frustration. This is racial profiling at its most basic/worst. I love the US but I’ve stopped coming recently as I get tagged by customs everytime. I’m English and in the UK military with a white English mother and a black Antiguan father. Who knew Antigua was such a terrorist threat or could it be something else…?

The only other place where customs are so ‘over-zealous’ is Australia. It just get depressing waiting in line just to get pulled out time and again as virtually the only black person on the flight when its for a holiday.